This is an original print that I photographed. The Portland Breakwater Light (also called Bug Light) is a small lighthouse in South Portland, Maine. The lighthouse’s flashing red beacon helped guide ships from Casco Bay through the entrance to Portland Harbor. This highly detailed photo was taken on a very overcast day giving the photo a very moody, eerie and dark feeling.
History:
The lighthouse was first built in 1855, as a wooden structure, but the breakwater was extended and a new lighthouse was constructed at the end of it. The new lighthouse was made of curved cast-iron plates whose seams are disguised by six decorative Corinthian columns. Its design was inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, made well known by engravings. The architect was Thomas U. Walter, most noted as the designer of the U.S. Capitol east and west wings and its current dome. Wooden sheds and a six-room house for the lighthouse-keeper were added incrementally as needed.
In 1934 Spring Point Ledge Light was erected and the houses around Bug Light were demolished and the lighthouse keeper tended to both lighthouses.
During World War II, the breakwater slowly receded, as the New England Shipbuilding Corporation built two shipyards next to the lighthouse. These shipyards produced Liberty Ships for the war effort.
Portland Breakwater Light was extinguished in 1942, like many lighthouses during World War II. The fog bell was operated electrically for a while, but the electrical cable was badly damaged by dredging operations. It was subsequently decided, in May 1943, that the light and fog signal were no longer needed for local navigation.
The light was fully restored in 1989 and was reactivated in 2002.
All 8x10, 16x20, 20x30 prints are produced using use a traditional photographic process. Printing is on real photographic paper which is exposed with light and then run through a chemical process, on Kodak Endura Professional Paper. (Read description on other items)
All prints will be ready for framing. There will be minor cropping on the 20″ x 30″ print.
